Laurie Kramer is associate dean and professor of applied family studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a prominent researcher in the field of family studies with a long-time interest in family resiliency. One of her objectives is to discover why some siblings have positive bonds while others do not, so that effective programs for enhancing these relationships can be developed. (Full story . . . )

Cindy Miller-Perrin received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Washington State University and is currently Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at Pepperdine University. Her research areas include child-clinical psychology, development, and medical/health psychology. She is widely published in the areas of child sexual abuse, prevention, and physiological psychology, and is a co-author of a textbook titled Family Violence Across the Lifespan. She is also teaches a course on Positive Psychology at Pepperdine. In this 2010 interview, Gina Stepp asked Miller-Perrin about family violence from a preventive perspective.
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Shane Gomes is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at California State University in Los Angeles, where he teaches courses in human violence, child maltreatment and family violence, In his clinical practice, he works with parents, children and adolescents as individuals, but he also works with couples and whole-family units. Through his practice, Gomes has regularly seen the effects of family violence and child maltreatment firsthand. (Full story . . . )

Cofounder and a former president of the Covey Leadership Center, Will Marré is an Emmy Award–winning writer, an advisor to the Grameen Foundation, and cofounder of the Seacology Foundation, which focuses primarily on preserving South Pacific island cultures and environments. Marré’s latest book, titled Save the World and Still Be Home for Dinner, addresses the need for some fundamental changes in the way business operates in our world. Gina Stepp spoke to him about sustainability, work-life balance and relationships. (Full story . . . )

Robert Nathan, who holds a doctorate in chemistry and biology from the California Institute of Technology, has semi-retired from a long and distinguished career as a senior scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. In “retirement” he cofounded the Los Angeles Gerontology Research Group and also serves on the board of the Volunteer Professionals for Medical Advancement (VPMA). Gina Stepp asked him about his research into aging and human longevity. Are we on the brink of immortality?
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Bill Albert is chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a private nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in Washington, D.C.
Albert, who has been associated with the campaign for 12 years, also contributes regularly to its online Weblog, where he notes that “young people are often told about how to reduce the risk of pregnancy and STIs [sexually transmitted infections] but rarely are they given guidance on how to successfully navigate the minefield of relationships.” Gina Stepp spoke with him about teen pregnancy and the complex associated issues.
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Louis Cozolino is a psychologist and psychology professor at Pepperdine University. His 2006 book, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships, focuses on how attachment relationships work to shape the human brain. Just as neurons communicate through mutual stimulation, he says, our highly social brains strive to connect with one another.

In this interview with Gina Stepp, Cozolino explains why poor attachment relationships lead to mental health problems, and how we can use new understandings from neuroscience to help people overcome them.
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Corporate consultant Natalie Gahrmann specializes in helping her clients balance their professional and personal lives. Gahrmann stresses that the best way out of the over-commitment trap is to establish congruence between substantial core values and priorities.